Beneath the Surface
by Obsidian3
Summary: Something of a companion piece to 'Worth the Wait', but from Rory's POV. Contains slash themes. (Rory/Paris)


[Gilmore Girls] Beneath the Surface (Rory/Paris)  
  
META/Disclaimer: I still don't own Gilmore Girls, or any of the characters. The WB does. This is a sort of companion piece to 'Worth the Wait', but from Rory's POV this time. I do have - somewhat tentative - plans to write a sequel to the both of them. Feedback is, as always, adored.  
  
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Paris Geller.  
  
I don't think there's anyone on this planet that confuses me more.  
  
I'm sure you know how we met, so I won't go into that. Suffice it to say, we didn't get along. At all. She seemed to delight in making my life miserable, and I hated her for it.  
  
Tristin just made things worse. We'd actually reached something of a truce when he decided he was 'interested' in me. The problem with that was that Paris liked Tristin. A lot. And Tristin refused to take a hint and get lost.  
  
When I started dating Dean, things started getting a little better - with Paris, anyway. In fact, when Dean and I had our first big falling out, I swear she actually looked... sympathetic. There were even a few times that I honestly wouldn't have been too surprised if she'd walked over and given me a hug. Shocked, maybe, but not surprised.  
  
Okay, that didn't even make sense to me. Right, then. Moving on.  
  
Oddly enough, as time went on, we actually found ourselves becoming... friends. I know. Weird, right? Well, it kinda threw me at first, too, but I couldn't help it. Once I finally managed to get past her shields, and her "I'm a bitch, you don't wanna mess with me" exterior, I found a fairly shy (and surprisingly insecure) girl, with great taste in books and a really dry sense of humor. It's not all that surprising that she feels she has to hide the real Paris, when one factors in her parents (and their astounding lack of love and affection for her... and I'd thought Mom and Grandma had a dysfunctional relationship), her 'friends', and the sheer pressure she puts herself under. They've made her into something of a perfectionist, which I used to find incredibly irritating, but now just think is kinda sad. What I *do* find annoying is her urge to be in control of every situation, and her tendency to boss everyone else around. But I think that, with some work, she could become a great person. And a kick-ass Congresswoman, if you ask me. And speaking of Congress...  
  
You know how we spent a summer in Washington, D.C., right? Paris was definately in her element, and despite the very busy schedule she'd seemed happier than I'd ever seen her. Then I found out something really irritating about her: she's a morning person. As anyone who knows me can testify, I'm useless without my morning cup of coffee. I don't know if she was annoyed by having to wait for me every day - even though I never overslept, and we didn't miss any of the planned events - because while she never said anything, I'd occasionally wake up and find her watching me. Not with an angry look, but more of a content one.  
  
I know, okay? Yeah, it sounds odd, but... I kinda found it flattering, you know? Not that I ever thought she was interested in me like that, or anything. I didn't give it much thought. At least, not until I woke up one night (there were some nights when I just couldn't sleep, for some reason or another - that night I think it was too much caffeine) to hear her muttering in her sleep. That wasn't really all that surprising, mind you. During the two month period, I found that she would sometimes talk in her sleep. She wasn't loud, and didn't snore or sleepwalk or anything like that, so I didn't really care. God help me, I almost found it cute. But then I heard what she was saying that time:  
  
My name.  
  
If she'd just been saying my name... Well, that would have been understandable, considering how much time we'd spent together. But she wasn't saying it, she was *moaning* it. Moaning. And not moaning in an angry way, or a sad way, or...  
  
Okay, fine. It was in a sexual way. Are you satisfied now?  
  
When I asked her about it the next morning, she tensed and said something about being excited about the upcoming Congressional session we were about to sit in on. I didn't want to press her about it - mainly because I wasn't sure how I felt about it - so I let it go.  
  
When we got back home, I had to deal with the Jess/Dean situation. That was sufficiently distracting that I almost managed to forget about my... concerns about Paris. Almost. She put up a good front, but I'd since learned how to see through her mask, and she wasn't fooling me. Hearing about it was painful to her. So I tried not to give her all that many details.  
  
I'll tell you, there were times when I actually found myself tempted to let her wrap her arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be all right. Who knows? She might have even made me believe it.  
  
I'm not going to lie to you. I did sometimes find myself curious about what it would be like, dating Paris. She *is* a beautiful girl, after all. Even I've noticed that. After Jess left, and everyone expected me to just automatically get back together with Dean... Well, I couldn't quite do it. I couldn't help it. My mind kept drifting back to those fantasies about Paris. I've never actually said anything to her, because, well, I'm too scared. Dating another girl... Well, that's something I have absolutely no experience with, and I don't even know how serious she is about this. About me. She keeps that sort of thing too far beneath the surface of her facade for even me to see.  
  
But I'll figure it out, sooner or later. It's just a matter of time. 


End file.
